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October 1704 (7)
= La Gloire du Roi - October 1704 = Weather this month *Heavy rain in the Pacific. *Storms in/around East Europe and the North Atlantic. Events Of Importte Pertaining To Recent Matters Dresden *The Emperor Leopold has attended mass held in a tent every day to dispell French claims that he is the Antichrist. "Whilst war is war, they could at least act like gentlemen," he bemoaned. *Prince Frederick Augustus of Saxony has come before the Holy Roman Emperor outside Dreden and sworn fealty anew to His Sacred Majesty. At the same time he spoke warmly of the King of France, saying that he been nothing but honourable in his suggestions to resolve this matter, and he now holds him in the highest possible regard. Stockholm *“Passing control of Estonia back to Sweden... WHAT!” The Lord Chamberlain of the King of Sweden put down the newspaper and fumed. That afternoon, following a meeting with His Majesty Charles XII, Count Rosenhare categorically denied that Russia transferred Estonia to Swedish rule. “That may have been the intention,” he explained, “but it has was never done! With that in mind I can now see a way out of this morass. If Russia restores order in Estonia and then does what she claims to have done already, that is – pass control of Estonia back to Sweden – then Sweden will accept that the war is over and peace has been restored. To save the Tsar's reputation the Kingdom of Sweden will at that point be happy to transfer £100,000 to the Russian Treasury in payment for services performed against the Estonian rebels, then we can all put this shameful business behind us!” Delhi *The Great Moghul's Grand Vizier Todar Mal has stated that the Prince of Bavaria's conclusions are 'fallacious and ridiculous.' He said, “There is no subsidy on our textile sales, any drop in prices has been on account of employing the Persian Shah Water Wheel and the efficiencies this has brought. The Bavarians should remove their own subsidies now and concentrate on making their own mills more efficient instead of complaining that ours are better served than their own!” Stuttgart *Drums rattled out parley from the walls of the Old Castle of Stuttgart, on which signal the cannon fell silent and Duke Eberhard of Wurtemburg came out to state that he accepted the Bavarian terms, since his situation was now hopeless, and surrendered all claim to Wurtemburg in return for exile in the Swiss Cantons, on the understanding that Bavaria will furnish him with a palace and an annual stipend of £30,000 a year. For General Dalberg the surrender was clearly all too much. He retired to his rooms and shot himself. The Bavarians ordered the Wurtemburg troops to march out of citadel and make camp outside the city, which they did. All arms and ammunition were surrendered as they marched out through the gate, but officers were allowed to keep their swords, and regiments their colours. The Bavarian army then made camp surrounding the Wurtemburgers, except that the 1st Brigade occupied the Old Citadel and secured the Treasury and ducal papers, &c. Without delay Duke Eberhard was compelled to sign the necessary papers ending his claim to Wurtemburg in perpetuity and ending the oath of allegiance until now owed to him by his people. He also signed papers to accept his exile, a pension and a palace in Switzerland, and was made to swear that he would not return to Wurtemburg during his lifetime. Under escort from a Bavarian aide his household was then taken to the Swiss border. Eberhard has been asked where in the Cantons he wishes to live, so that a palace may be purchased on his behalf? Back in camp the Prince of Bavaria called on parade the massed Wurtemburg troops to let them know that their oaths of allegiance have been absolved by the ex-duke and that he nows offer them service in the Army of Bavaria-Wurtemburg, 'as your loyalty and honour are a burning example to all and I would be proud to have you serve with me.' "There will be religious equality and all officers and men will be treated honourably and fairly," he told them. "To the Leibregiment I offer service in my guard as the Wurtemburg Leibgarde, I would be proud if they accepted service with me. The same applies to all of you. Those troops accepting and swearing service with me will receive a two-month pay bonus." To a man the soldiers were pleased to swear allegiance and remain in uniform. Work was then put in hand to ensure the dead were buried and the sick cared for as best as those present were able. Shanghai *The K’ang-his Emperor of China arrived in Shanghai in order to attend the initial wedding ceremony of Lord Yea and Princess Wencheng, and announced that he was giving his personal blessing to 'these my most favoured son and daughter'. They were married soon after the Emperor's arrival, and then set out for Peking for a second wedding ceremony to be carried out in front of the princess's family. London & Oxford *Continuing with the siege of London, work on the French trenches was underway with work still being done solely at night. In retaliation the garrison cannon fired a few ranging shots by day and bombarded the French lines at night. By 7th October the approach trenches were complete. The Duke of Berwick then personally took a hand in ensuring the siege batteries were sited well before London's old walls. Alas while doing so he was wounded by a bullet, and had to be tended in his tent for the rest of the month, although by the end of it he is understood to have recovered fully. By mid-month the battering trayne had created a breach, but the Marquis de Blainville and the Marquis de la Guiche, not wishing to take the responsibility or indeed glory upon themselves, chose to await the recovery of Berwick before deciding whether to attempt to capture it. *On the Thames 25 fireships were sent downriver against the French bomb ketches east of the city. The galliots withdrew to avoid them behind five ship of the line stationed west of Chatham, and in the event the fireships burnt themselves out without causing any damage. *Out from the south side of London emerged 70 squadrons of English Horse. These maneouvred against the 1st Jacobite Field Army, whose 15 squadrons of the Guard Ecossaise (à Cheval) Regiment were caught in something of a quandry. The English Jacobite cavalry didn't want to engage head on, and yet did not think retiring was a possibility since this would leave the five infantry battalions accompanying them exposed. While the Jacobite cavalry milled about two dozen squadrons of English government dragoons led by the 1st Dragoons, the Royals, under Colonel Percival Keene charged them from three directions at once. With great loss and rapidity the Jacobite cavalry was overthrown and sent packing. However rather than turn their attentions to the Jacobite foot the English cavalry rode off after the defeated horse, pursuing them as far as Oxford. There the English rode in, while the Jacobites retired west of the city. A French dragoon squadron based in Oxford, observing the retreating Jacobites and approaching English, took it upon itself to retire to the west and link up with their allies. *In order to resist the French invaders the London Volunteer Militia has formed itself, consisting of 750 volunteers who took it upon themselves to form this irregular corps to fight for the King! *South-west of London a French artillery trayne, the Armee du Nord Artillerie, has arrived. It consists of 14 batteries. Reval *The Estonian nobleman Count Babin has been shot dead while walking outside the city's covered market. The assassin has not been found. He had been on his way to a meeting with General Larion Elizarov. Having heard of this, some other Estonian men of note fled rather than attend the meeting, fearing that they might be next. Elizarov looked genuinely shocked upon being told of the murder, which rather messed up his plans for the month. He did however issue large sums in compensation and restoration grants in an attempt to allay any feelings of hostility towards the Russians the people may be holding. Cairo *Commenting on the loss of slaves recently from Suez, Bey Huseyin of Egypt has stated that he shall put guards on duty there to prevent this happening again. However, for this to work he has requested the Grand Vizier provide slaves and place them under Egyptian control to ensure they are indeed guarded properly this time. He also expressed his frustration that work on the canal has still not begun even though Egypt has fulfilled her side of the agreement entirely. Constantinople *In accordance with the law of 1701/2, Ottoman Beyships are requested to inform the Grand Vizier of any grain surpluses they hold that might be purchased by Anatolia. Philadelphia *Hubert Davis has publicly commended the Royal Bank of the Americas for its support for the Sons of Liberty, and has asked what donation the Bank would be able to make toward the Noble Cause? The branch manager, Carlos Fernandes, was a bit non-plussed at the suggestion. "Sorry I don't understand, this is a bank, we don't make donations, we give loans," he replied. Moscow *In Moscow the bells of the cathedrals and churches have rung out to mark the victory achieved by the 3rd Imperial Russian Army in Estonia! Versailles *Freiherr von Reldburg has been recalled to Vienna, and as he closed the French embassy to France he complained that the French appear incapable of acting with any kind of courtesy. Yorktown *Mister Obadiah Smith was pleased to welcome to his humble establishment Mister John Henry, whom he soon appreciated must be of French parentage. Nevertheless, Henry - or should we say Henri? - thanked Mister Smith for his continued support, and suggested that the carriage of Sons of Liberty trade for free would give the HWIC 'far reaching opportunity', whilst also acquiring the HWIC the 'loyalty and support of the American people'. As John Henry spoke the colour visibily drained from Obadiah's cheeks. "Free did you say?" He shook his head and frowned. "Free? I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean..." *Crown and American officers joined militia commander Greene in a toast to the King, and Brigadier Stark was urged to support His Majesty and the Sons of Liberty. Stark smiled, and agreed that since he supports King William IV, and that the Sons of Liberty are a Tory patriot militia, then of course they have his backing! In Yorktown, New York, Boston and most if not all other towns of the mainland English colonies flags of the Sons of Liberty are being openly displayed, purchased by local businessmen to show their patriotic support for the war effort and their intenton to defy the French! In these places calls are being made for them to follow the example of Yorktown and come under the direct control of the Sons of Liberty, although more often than not this has broken out into arguments over whether they should or not! However, Charles Town has now come under the sway of the patriots' administration this month. Chatham *French bomb ketches off Chatham have once more subjected it to a bombardment, albeit at a slower rate of fire. Despite this considerable damage was caused by fires within Chatham as a result. Chatham Magazine blew up in spectacular manner and a sloop was set afire and abandoned. The return mortar fire by ketches of the English Navy in harbour failed to do any damage. *Later in the month the night was disturbed by a fireship attack against Chatham. Five fireships were sent in, but of these three foundered before getting to the harbour. The two that did both collided with bomb ketches and set one so badly on fire that it burnt to the waterline. The other vessel was damaged but remained afloat. On the advice of his captains Philippe de Bourbon, Duke d'Anjou decided against following in the wake of the fireship attack with ships of war, fearing they would themselves ground and become accidentally conflagerated in the night action. Copenhagen *Ambassador Giorgio Vasari, acting on behalf of King Carlos of Spain, has done what ambassadors have also done in Rome, Vienna, Venice, Genoa, Turin, Lisbon, Zurich, The Hague, Munich, Cologne, Hanover, Berlin, and Mainz. Proposals to end the Anglo-French Dredger War are being presented, 'before it turns into a European War': General Manuel Dego has returned to Versailles from Reims to put the proposals before His Most Christian Majesty, while the Spanish Netherlands emissary, Vizconde Carlos de Hijosdalgo, is doing the same in London. General Dego also officially protested on behalf of the King of Spain over the French burning his father in effigy and the regading the French-backed piracy at Whydah. Kingston *The Duke de Créquy and his men have tried to rest this month but found themselves being 'given the bird' by yard workers and even fallen women as they walked the streets! This hostility by no means broke out into actual violence but prevented the French from getting decent rest. Sir Jeremy Godolphin was equally taunted and ill-treated, but fortunately for him he hardly seems to have noticed on account of being virtually deaf which no doubt saved him from considerable emotional distress! Rome *Carlos III's envoys have also been busy in Rome, Malta, and once again in Savoy. In each instance a diamond-hilted rapier of Toledo steel and a sash and badge of the League of St. George were presented to the Papal Gonfalonier, the Grandmaster of Malta, and the Duke of Savoy respectively. However, in Rome it was explained that the office of Gonfalonier had been replaced in the late 17th century by the position of Flag Bearer of the Holy Roman Empire. The current incumbent, Sergio Lucca da Roma, was therefore fortunate enough to receive the offered knighthood. His Holiness the Pope has been asked to review and approve the Oath of the League. Besancon *General von Bagni has brought Besancon under Austrian civic rule, and immediately announced that city shall enjoy freedom from taxes for five years! Attempt by Bagni to extend such control into the countryside here met with abject failure. The peasants proved extremely hostile, and seemed to think nothing of hanging from a tree an Austrian clerk sent to talk to them by the general. *The five dragoon squadrons of the 10th Regiment Dragons de Chevau-Legers of the French army rode toward Besancon in their distinctive yellow jackets and Schomberg metal helmets. One squadron formed an advanced guard slightly ahead of the main body and having orders to check whether Besancon was still occupied by the Austrians. It was this squadron which found itself charged in the flank by three squadrons of Austrian dragoons who had been hidden in a dip in the ground beside the road. Forewarned that clearly this insinuated that Besancon remained firmly in enemy hands the rest of the 10th Regiment held back and kept watch. They were allowed precious little rest nor ability to screen Besancon as over the coming days four times their number of Austrian dragoons skirmished with them, preventing them from making any meaningful observations. Kiev *Prince Ferenc has issued an open invitation to known leading nobles in Hungary to the Citadel of Kiev next month in order to discuss their next steps in peacefully restoring certain rights to the Hungarian people. The Prince made it clear that military intervention is a last option and his intention remains to get Leopold Hapsburg to agree to the concessions required through diplomacy. Brussels *Countess Mary of Ghent, Viceroy of the Spanish Netherlands has expressed her horror that Louis XIV is willing to abolish two ancient kingdoms and risk the mass slaughter of Europe's nobilty over a mere trade dispute. El Escorial *Rodrigo Martello has asked at the Spanish court for permission to present the HWIC presentation sword to the Captain-general of New Grenada in grateful recognition of his recent support for international trade. The second presentation sword, La Compañía’s presentation sword, Rodrigo wishes to present to His Royal majesty the King of Spain and he is asking how this should be handled within the court protocol? People being Much Admired by the Best in Société *The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. *Lord Yea of the Shantung Province of the Heavenly Celestial Manchu Empire. *Mihail Racovita, Hospdar Prince of Moldavia. *Cardinal Portocarrero of the Council of State, Bishop of Toledo, King Of Spain’s Treasurer: *Shah Soltan Hussain Of Persia. *Roger Martel Of The Honourable West India Company, Spain’S Viceroy Of Africa. *Maharaj-Prince Shrimant Rajaram Of The Maharatas. *Tsar Piotr Of Russia. Shipping Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Movements *A Portuguese slaver has been taken as a prize by Jacobite cruisers off the Gold Coast. *The Swedish Baltic Fleet has abandoned its station off Riga and sailed off into the Baltic. *A French merchant ship has gone missing in the North Sea. *In the West Indies a Spanish slaver going about its lawful business sighted a body floating in the water. On being taken on board it appeared to be that of a deceased merchant captain or officer who died on account of drowning. *English cruisers intercepted what appeared to be five old dilapidated French merchantmen. On inspection the vessels it became apparent that the ships were actually fireships. *The English squadron scuttled the lot after giving time for their crews to get into ship??s boats. *In the Bay of Biscay two French merchantmen were overhauled by Dunkirkers under the leadership of Rene Duguay-Trouin. He accused their captains of being in cahoots with the English and supplying them with goods of war, but when in each instance they declared that they recognised King James as the rightful king of England, he let them go (albeit with some reluctance!). *Eight English merchant ships are reported missing in the English Channel. Lloyds Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Losses from Causes Unknowne or Knowne *None. Ambassadorial Appointments *None. Trade Missions Opened *None. Automatically parsed by LGDRParser v1.0 Category:Game 7